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Today is International Tiramisu Day! to celebrate the traditional dessert.
The Italian news agency ANSA proudly announced that the traditional dessert featuring mascarpone, coffee and lady’s fingers would be celebrated at the weekend, and even Italians take comfort in this treat, with sales rising last year by about 5 per cent.
Delivery services that offered tiramisu did well in the pandemic,though pre-made versions are also available in stores, dpa news agency quoted the ANSA report.
Tiramisu Sunday was launched in 2017 by a few food writers, according to a website about the celebration.
In normal times, there were competitions to see who could make the best version of the dessert, as well as who could offer the best new takes on the classic sweet.
There have meanwhile been creations that feature peanut butter or chocolate spread, as well as bananas or strawberries.
For an even more interesting flavour and colour, green tea has also been used.
During this unique event, we will prepare tiramisù together with chefs, opinion leaders, bloggers and representatives of institutions around the world 🌎 If you love tiramisù and Italian culture, you can’t miss it ✨
Enjoy & Celebrate! Thank you Shravanthi Pennathur, for the yummy Tiramisu, we loved it!


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Nokia’s 2013 Lumia lineup consists of the 925 and the 1020. According to a new report, the Lumia 625 “Max” will be joining this lineup. It is said to be a more affordable handset sporting a 4.7-inch display.
Liveside.net reports, “Following the announcement of the flagship Nokia Lumia 1020 last week, it appears that the Finnish company is not done with their new Windows Phone 8 product lineup. Coming fresh from China today via Sina Weibo user @ictech are news regarding a new Nokia device – named Nokia Lumia 625, that has recently passed certification in China. According to the official TENAA (radio communication device regulator in China) website.”
It adds, “Listed as the Nokia 625H, it was reported back in May this year that this device was codenamed “Max” and has a large 4.7″ WVGA display (which is probable given the proportion shown in the image above), Super Sensitive Touch, 1.2GHz dual core processor, 512MB RAM and 2000mAh battery. It can be seen from the image above (and through the TENAA listing) that it has both a front and rear camera with LED focus assist light, and rumor has it that they will be VGA and 5MP respectively. Given these specifications and the model number, it’s safe to say this is a low-end device. The device is touted to be the “cheapest LTE capable device in the Lumia range”, and is expected to be made available in China by the end of July for a mere CNY1999 (approximately USD325).”
Would you like to get more information on the Nokia Lumia 625 Max? We’ll let you know once Nokia announces anything official.
For more on the Nokia Lumia 925 White, check us out at PhonesLimited.

domain: news


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Steve Ballmer confirms Microsoft's intentions to produce more hardware
0. phoneArena 15 Nov 2012, 07:57 posted on
Love it or hate it, it looks like Microsoft is firmly convinced that hardware is a field where it just has to be. Speaking at a tech event in California yesterday, Microsoft's CEO has once again hinted that his company is continuing to explore all kinds of available options to join the hardware game...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
2. Angkor (Posts: 108; Member since: 05 Jul 2012)
All hardware are "Made in CHINA" most American will be unemployed by American companies making products oversea.
3. asseek (Posts: 164; Member since: 12 Sep 2012)
" Understandably worried about the reactions of their partners, the CEO has said that although Microsoft is definitely going into hardware, it believes that it is its partners will be controlling the major part of the Windows ecosystem. "
does this mean that Microsoft will collaborate with Nokia, HTC, and Samsung to make new hardwares (Surface Phone for example)? Like Google for their Nexus line
English is my second language :)
4. MorePhonesThanNeeded (Posts: 645; Member since: 23 Oct 2011)
Lol, only so many crazy ideas can Ballmer come up with and push forward all the while not making any returns before the shareholders get upset and start wanting results in their favor and then all this will change.
5. 7thspaceman (Posts: 1546; Member since: 14 Feb 2011)
like I said before Most big businesses that have stores online or otherwise have their own brand name products to sell to the Public. generally they sell them at a cheaper price than competitors do. Microsoft is doing it right because once a person buys software they keep using on their computers for years at a time. So it is wise for Microsoft to have a little side thing going. Yoo Microsoft we need a Microsoft store here in Philadelphia PA preferably some where in Center city or University City a division of Philadelphia where the University of Pennsylvania Campus is..
6. Jyakotu (Posts: 844; Member since: 12 Dec 2008)
Microsoft does make some hardware already, like keyboards and mice. It was only a matter of time because they wanted to expand.


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Rather than enjoying time by the lake or playing video games inside, this summer was spent by our youth interns working vigorously at various social enterprises of Pillsbury United Communities. These students spent a large part of their time working as journalists, theater tech interns, radio hosts, film crews, fashion designers, and horticulture workers. To celebrate the work they’ve done, PUC held a very special celebration at Pillsbury House + Theatre on Thursday, August 3rd with the culmination of these interns’ work on display.
The event began just outside the venue where “inside out cars” were on display thanks to the creative theater tech interns. Inside was a booth with a spectacular sound system set up by KRSM Radio. The KRSM interns maintained a live broadcast of the event throughout the night where people of all ages could go live on the air and give a shout out at the event.
Located on the second floor was a hot sauce competition led by the Growing Good interns which, as many could attest, was incredibly spicy. Beside them was a strategically placed cucumber water stand to help combat the heat of the contest. In addition to that was a free produce table where community members received free vegetables grown by the Food Systems interns. North News and the East Lake Street Cohort had displays across from them with storyboards and photos of the amazing work they had done this summer.
Finally, a film screening was projected in the theater. The films were directed, shot, and edited entirely by the students and focused on some of the harsher aspects of life in Minneapolis. Following the film screenings was a fashion show put on by interns at Sisterhood Boutique. Unlike some fashion shows, the models walking were the interns themselves who had designed and crafted pieces of clothes using up-cycled materials as a commentary on the fast fashion industry.
Many thanks to the wonderful community members who came and supported our youth interns. An additional thanks to our parters Best Buy Teen Tech Center and the University of Minnesota. This night was a showcase in how investing in our youth can lead to monumental change for a just society.


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AAA called the recent jump in gasoline prices unjustified and said oil companies may be "close to" gouging consumers. U.S. pump prices for regular gasoline averaged $1.605 a gallon as of yesterday, up 10 cents from a week earlier and the highest since June 2001, the group said in a news release. The price was the highest that AAA has recorded for the month of February. "We see nothing in the overall supply-and-demand picture to justify an increase of that magnitude," AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said.
No Pay Cap for Accounting Board
Congress dropped an amendment that would have capped the pay of the members of the new federal accounting oversight board at $400,000 a year, President Bush's salary. "It's out," said Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), who opposed the amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Boxer attached the amendment to a 2003 fiscal year Senate appropriations bill, which is undergoing negotiations with a competing version approved by the House. The accounting board members voted themselves annual salaries of $452,000 at their first meeting on Jan. 9, with the chairman to be paid $560,000. The board members' pay levels are the same as at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets accounting rules.
Sprint, stalled by a court battle in its effort to appoint BellSouth Vice Chairman Gary Forsee as chief executive, said William T. Esrey will remain in that post until the telephone company can name a successor. Ronald T. LeMay will remain chief operating officer during the same transition period, Sprint said in a statement. Directors intend to name Forsee chief executive as soon as it is permitted. Sprint is forcing Esrey and LeMay to step down over their personal use of tax shelters.
Yields on five-year Treasury notes fell to a record low at the government's quarterly sale of the securities. The Treasury sold $24 billion of the notes at a yield of 3.029 percent. Demand was weak, however: The government received bids equal to a record-low 1.42 times the amount of the notes sold.
Wyeth said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the Justice Department's antitrust division plans to have a grand jury review whether the drugmaker colluded with another pharmaceutical firm on certain sales-commission rates. The filing said the alleged collusion relates to commission rates for a broker "for a small segment of the over-the-counter drug business." Wyeth officials wrote in the filing that they do not believe they violated antitrust laws.
UAL chief executive Glenn F. Tilton's compensation, which totals $8.45 million a year, will be challenged by creditors, according to a court filing by United Airlines' parent company, which is in Chapter 11.
General Electric shareholders will get a chance to vote on splitting the jobs of chairman and chief executive, a nonbinding shareholder proposal that GE had hoped to keep off the ballot for its 2003 annual meeting. The Securities and Exchange Commission rejected GE's request to keep the proposal out of the proxy, GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said.
Northrop Grumman received a $302.9 million Air Force contract to expand production of its Global Hawk unmanned spy plane used in Afghanistan. Northrop will make six more planes, adding to seven already delivered.
Alan Bond, who managed pension funds for professional basketball players who made millions and municipal transit workers who earned much less, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for cheating clients and taking kickbacks from brokers.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy Burlington Industries, the Greensboro, N.C.-based textile maker that sought bankruptcy protection in 2001, for $579 million in cash. Berkshire bought underwear maker Fruit of the Loom out of bankruptcy last year. Burlington's largest creditor, however, said he opposed the Berkshire agreement.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles charged 17 software programmers and hardware manufacturers with stealing millions of dollars in satellite TV services from Hughes Electronics' DirecTV and Echostar Communications' Dish Network. Ten of the defendants, including one who admitted responsibility for more than $15 million in losses, have agreed to plead guilty, U.S. Attorney Debra Yang said.
Dell Computer ended a $16 billion purchasing agreement with IBM and reduced a $6 billion services alliance. In a seven-year contract signed in 1999, Dell agreed to buy components and to have IBM install and service Dell PCs under warranty. Dell stopped buying parts from IBM because the company no longer makes some items and pared the services agreement because IBM charged more for services than Dell wanted to pay, an analyst said.
El Paso Corp., the largest U.S. owner of natural gas pipelines, said chief executive William A. Wise will leave after 12 years as CEO and 33 years at El Paso.
Kmart asked a bankruptcy judge to find Anthony D'Onofrio, its former executive vice president and chief supply-chain officer, in contempt for failing to respond to seven subpoenas directing him to supply documents and appear for depositions in Kmart's investigation into its pre-bankruptcy management. Anonymous letters, claiming to be from employees, prompted Kmart to launch a review of its accounting practices last year. The company says D'Onofrio is the subject of 16 of those letters.
A Paris court rejected a lawsuit filed against former Yahoo chief executive Timothy A. Koogle by French human rights activists over the sale of Nazi memorabilia on Yahoo Web sites. The Tribunal de Grande Instance said the case had no merit. Koogle was sued by the Association of Auschwitz Deportees, which accused him of "justifying war crimes" by allowing people to buy Nazi items on Yahoo.
Aetna posted a fourth-quarter profit of $98.2 million, compared with a loss of $187.6 million in the same period of the previous year, after raising premiums and slashing medical expenses. Revenue fell 22 percent, to $4.7 billion.
America Online Latin America halved its losses in the fourth quarter as costs fell because of weaker currencies in the region. The loss narrowed to $33.8 million, from $65.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. Sales fell 4.5 percent, to $17.8 million.
Clorox, the largest U.S. household-bleach maker, said second-quarter profit rose 75 percent because sales of new household cleaners increased and costs fell. The maker of Glad bags and Kingsford charcoal said earnings rose to $89 million, from $51 million in the year-earlier quarter. Sales rose 4.4 percent, to $926 million.
Prudential Financial, the second-biggest U.S. life insurer, said it narrowed its fourth-quarter loss to $58 million, compared with a loss of $403 million in the same period of 2001.
Compiled from reports by the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones News Service and Washington Post staff writers


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In a bid to develop a conducive atmosphere for digitalisation in the non-corporate sector, prominent stakeholders of the economy have come forward to form the ‘Alliance for Digital Bharat’. The alliance includes national organisations of traders, transporters, consumers, farmers, hawkers, SMEs, and self-employed groups to name a few.
“The proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is designed to be based on a digital platform coupled with various moves of the Government to encourage cashless economy, has necessitated the formation of an alliance which will become a common market in line with keeping at par the goods & services in GST,” the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said in a press release.
At a conference held in New Delhi, the alliance launched a nationwide advocacy campaign to extend support to encourage digitalisation among different verticals of non-corporate sector. The alliance’s objectives includes raising awareness levels, among its constituent, other such newer technologies, for the benefit of small business owners, largely include online marketplaces, e-commerce, digital payments, mobile wallets, cloud based accounting software and comprehensive use of social media for the purpose of aggressive marketing of smaller businesses.
“Unfortunately in absence of any specified rules & regulations, the e-commerce market in India has become an open play ground and e commerce companies are engaged in several activities that are detrimental to small businesses,” Secretary General of CAIT and Convenor of the Alliance, Praveen Khandelwal, said in a press release.
He added: “Digital payment is one of the core payment system largely used in e commerce. In the light of same, the alliance has been formed to empower different verticals of non- corporate sector to meet the challenges beside impressing upon the Government to take proactive steps for fair competition.”
CAIT said the unorganised sector has long remain neglected when compared with rapid strides the organised sector has made over the last few years. This move not only supports the Government’s intention to leverage its financial inclusion scheme, but also allows smaller business owners to realise impending benefits of these new age technologies.
“Complexity in understanding impending benefits, hesitation in maintaining websites along with necessary/added features such as payment gateways, and resistance to trust technologies such as cloud computing, are often cited as reasons not to avail these technologies. Added to this, dependency on private institutions for credit does not help even if a business owner is convinced to scale up its presence. Small and medium business are now moving beyond promotion and marketing related activities on social media and are increasingly realising benefits of being listed online as an e-seller,” National President of CAIT, BC Bhartia, said.
The alliance intends to provide a set of principles, standards, policies and constraints and mutual support organizations to various micro-merchant, trader and allied communities to help them adopt emerging technologies such as e-commerce, and mobile banking including digital payments.


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Airbnb has taken its fair share of criticism over the past three years. Record-high inflation and the rising cost of housing has caused the short-term rental giant to come under close scrutiny from government officials and regulators.
But the scrutiny may be well-deserved. Regulators argue that the business model of Airbnb and its competitors weakens the already diminished housing supply. They say that Airbnb incentivizes homeowners to rent out their living spaces at over-inflated prices instead of renting to long-term tenants or selling their properties to aspiring homeowners.
Although Airbnb’s struggles may continue for the foreseeable future, the short-term rental website is still the largest player in the industry and will likely persevere through these momentary struggles.
Keep reading to learn more about Airbnb, short-term rental regulations, and the supply issues that affect consumers today.
The Airbnb Business Model
Before we talk about the regulatory action surrounding Airbnb, it’s important to first understand how the business model works and why they are being targeted by regulators.
Airbnb is a peer-to-peer marketplace, meaning it needs two parties on the platform to function efficiently. The first party on Airbnb are the hosts, who own the rental properties and provide details about their accommodations to potential guests online.
Hosts on Airbnb also determine the rental terms for their property, including the pricing, minimum stay requirements, and guest screening processes.
Unsurprisingly, the second party on Airbnb are the guests, who are the ones that book the rental properties for a short period of time from the hosts on Airbnb.
Guests find properties on the Airbnb website using filters that let them sort listings based on location, price range, property type, and amenities.
The Airbnb platform has gone under extensive cosmetic changes since it was first launched in 2008.
Today, Airbnb’s website and mobile application facilitates the entire booking process for guests. They handle payment processing, security deposits, and have customer service representatives to handle any disputes.
Airbnb’s main revenue source is through the fees charged to both hosts and guests that use the platform. Hosts pay 3% to 5% of the total booking amount as a service fee, while guests pay service fees ranging from 6% to 14% of the total booking cost.
To a lesser extent, Airbnb makes additional revenue from Airbnb Plus premium listings and guided tours and activities offered through the platform.
Attempts to Resolve the Affordability Crisis
While Airbnb may have a role in the affordability crisis, they are certainly not the only ones to blame. But that’s not stopping regulators in New York City.
In an article published in September, NBC reports that the city of New York will be enforcing the most stringent regulations on short-term rental sites in history in an effort to decrease the cost of housing and make it possible for average Americans to rent properties on a long-term basis.
New York City Local Law 18 is the official name for the regulation. Unsurprisingly, Airbnb and its supporters were in opposition to the regulation and argued that they would limit accommodation options for visitors to the city.
Among the most important provisions in Local Law 18 is that only a maximum of two guests could stay in an Airbnb unit in New York City each night, and with the requirement that hosts be physically present during the rental period.
Additionally, doors between host and guest areas have to remain unlocked so all occupants have access to the entire unit. These measures were primarily targeted at investors who had converted long-term residences into more lucrative Airbnb listings.
According to data provided by Inside Airbnb, there were nearly 22,000 listings on Airbnb offering entire units. These listings are now prohibited under Local Law 18 and will eliminate the de facto hotels that have been popping up all across the city.
This will, hopefully, start to ease the strain of the New York City housing market and start the process of making housing more affordable for those who need it most.
Rental Properties and Supply Challenges
Rental property websites like Airbnb can contribute to housing supply issues in a variety of ways.
First, many property owners are starting to realize that listing their properties on platforms like Airbnb can be more lucrative as opposed to traditional long-term rentals. As a result, there will be a reduction in the number of long-term rental units and will make it more challenging for those looking for stable housing.
Additionally, the limited housing supply often leads to more competition among renters. Airbnb attracts a large number of tourists and travelers in many areas and increases the demand for temporary housing. When the demand for housing increases, the competition will further drive up prices in the market.
Short-term rental properties also charge higher nightly rates compared to long-term rentals. When property owners realize they can make more money through short-term rentals, it can incentivize them to remove properties from the long-term rental market and make housing unaffordable for many residents.
How Supply Issues Affect Consumers
Aside from an increase in housing prices, inventory supply issues have other negative effects that are especially detrimental to aspiring homeowners and long-term renters.
Limited Housing Choices
Fewer properties on the market means consumers will have fewer options to choose from and may have to compromise on key factors and selling points, such as the location, size, or overall condition of the property.
Bidding Wars on Available Properties
In tight housing markets, multiple buyers often compete for the same property and ignite bidding wars.
While a bidding war directly benefits sellers, it can be frustrating and financially challenging for buyers who may need to make offers above the asking price to secure a home.
Commuting and Transportation Issues
Even in the age of remote work, many families and aspiring homeowners want to live near their workplace or in proximity of amenities like shopping malls, grocery stores, or dining districts.
A shortage of homes on the market may force consumers to live further away from these amenities, resulting in longer commutes and reduced quality of life when factoring in the extra cost of transportation.
Homeownership was a dream that was attainable for many Americans in recent decades. But now, plagued by student loan debt and record-high inflation, young Americans are finding that it’s nearly impossible to enter the housing market on an average salary right out of school.
This issue is starting to delay homeownership for many young Americans who otherwise would be thrilled to become homeowners and contribute to the housing market.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Although Airbnb is perhaps the most prominent rental listing site, there have been regulations enforced on businesses in this industry for decades, such as:
- Zoning and Land Regulations: Many cities have zoning laws that dictate how properties can be used. In some areas, short-term rentals may not be permitted in residential zones or may require specific permits. Some cities differentiate between owner-occupied properties (where the host lives on-site) and non-owner-occupied properties (entire homes or apartments rented out by absentee hosts) and may have different regulations for each.
- Licensing and Permits: Some local governments require hosts to obtain licenses or permits to operate short-term rentals. These permits may come with specific requirements, such as safety inspections or insurance coverage.
- Taxation: Taxation is a major issue for short-term rental businesses. Many rental markets require hosts to collect occupancy taxes and submit them to the local government. Airbnb has worked with local authorities in the past to implement a system for collecting and remitting taxes on behalf of hosts.
- Safety and Building Codes: Regulations related to safety and building codes are a major concern for rental listing sites like Airbnb. Hosts may be required to meet specific safety standards, provide fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and adhere to occupancy limits.
- Fair Housing Laws: Short-term rental platforms have faced criticism over alleged discrimination by hosts. Many local governments have implemented anti-discrimination regulations that prohibit hosts from refusing bookings based on race, religion, or gender.
While the short-term rental market has exploded in recent years, there’s an effort to implement regulations to curtail some of the perceived damage that companies like Airbnb have inflicted.
Although Airbnb’s business model relies on hosts renting out their properties to short-term tenants, the government has the right to intervene when their business practices have a negative effect on the housing market.
Whether it’s housing prices, bidding wars, delayed homeownership, or commuting issues, the effects of supply shortages on the housing market can be devastating. Owning a home is now considered impossible in many areas of the country, and regulating Airbnb may prove to be an effective way to turn things around.
Trending: A Guide to Real Estate Debt Financing


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Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) reported first quarter financial results after markets closed Wednesday. The company said that it had $1.69 in earnings per share (EPS) on $11.97 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $1.35 in EPS on $11.41 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $1.04 in EPS on $8.03 billion in revenue.
During the quarter, daily active users (DAUs) totaled 1.45 billion on average for March 2018 , an increase of 13% year-over-year. Separately, monthly active users (MAUs) totaled 2.20 billion, an increase of 13%.
Mobile advertising revenue represented roughly 91% of advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2018, up from approximately 85% of advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2017.
Earlier this month, Facebook increased the amount authorized under its share repurchase program by an additional $9.0 billion. The board of directors originally authorized repurchases of up to $6.0 billion of its Class A common stock under the repurchase program, and this increase is incremental to the original authorization.
The company did not offer any guidance for the second quarter. However, there are consensus estimates that are calling for $1.63 in EPS on $12.91 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, commented:
Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018. We are taking a broader view of our responsibility and investing to make sure our services are used for good. But we also need to keep building new tools to help people connect, strengthen our communities, and bring the world closer together.
Shares of Facebook closed Wednesday at $159.69, with a consensus analyst price target of $216.06 and a 52-week range of $144.42 to $195.32. Following the announcement the stock was up 5% at $167.69 in the after-hours session.


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Mumbai, March 25: Sony India is charting an aggressive strategy for India with its premium colour televisions (CTVs). The company aims to grab a 10 per cent share of the colour television market in the next three years and has wants to clock a turnover of Rs 1,500 crore by 2005-06.
To pilot this strategy, Sony has chosen Keichi Sakamoto (legendary Sony founder Akio Morita’s personal assistant) as the new managing director, who will replace Teruo Ishii from April 1.
Elaborating on his plans for the Indian market, Sakamoto said: “My target is to achieve 10 per cent market share in CTV in the next three years. I believe it is possible as I have achieved this in my previous experiences in Canada and New Zealand.”
The company’s focus would be on retailing of consumer products during the next fiscal, he added.
Unruffled by other Korean majors, LG and Samsung in cornering significant market share, Sony said it plans to stick to the premium-end Flat CTV segment.
The company is planning to double its advertisement outlay to Rs 4 crore in 2003-04 compared with the previous fiscal, mainly to showcase its Sony World range of showrooms in India.
Sony World, projected as the company’s flagship stores, contributes to 11.5 per cent of the company’s turnover, Ishii added. “With the latest addition, we expect our turnover to increase to 15 per cent in 2004. With an addition of another 22 stores by 2005, Sony’s turnover will increase by over 20 per cent.” Sony would peddle its recent product, Play Stations, through Sony Select. It also plans to launch computer laptop Sony Vaio next year.


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The potential impact of Brexit for the UK’s businesses, both large and small, has been written about and agonised over for some months now, despite a lack of clarity about what exactly leaving the European Union will look like when it comes to pass.
Will the UK remain in the customs union? How will EU citizens be permitted to travel to and from the UK? And how can the nation’s businesses maintain their strong links with suppliers, clients and customers in the mainland?
These are just a few of the questions that still need to be answered. But, according to new data published this month, the majority of the country’s SMEs are planning to explore new markets beyond the EU – and most are expecting decent rewards for doing so.
The latest instalment of the Global Trade Barometer, which quizzes 1,000 SMEs, one in four are aiming to export to a new country in the next quarter – an increase on figures recorded last year.
The survey also discovered that 30 per cent of small organisations described their feelings about future growth as “positive”, an increase of 5 per cent. Far from the doom and gloom promised by so many other commentators around Brexit, smaller organisations are looking for the bright side, it appears.
Indeed, for those that are already trading internationally, business is booming. Thanks to a stalling pound, exporters are finding it easier to make their goods available to companies abroad: according to the survey, the average SME made £48,000 of overseas transfers in just the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 5 per cent on last year.
In fact, of the ten markets that saw the largest growth in payments from UK SMEs in that period, seven are outside of the EU: Turkey, Norway, Morocco, Singapore, Russia, Indonesia and the UAE.
In order to capitalise on the new opportunities afforded outside of the EU, many smaller businesses are exploring alternative ways of doing business, the survey also found. Switching from traditional banks to specialist fintech providers, adopting worldwide business practices and diversifying their business offerings are all ways identified by those surveyed.
As Jeremy Cook, chief economist at WorldFirst, which produces the survey, said: “These SMEs will be our global exporting pioneers post-Brexit and it is vital that the Government and wider industry does all they can to support them.
“This could mean anything from facilitating connections between UK small businesses and foreign counterparts, to offering advice and training on how to do business and communicate with international trading partners.”
As a buyer or seller of small businesses, this information is crucial. A company that is distressed or experiencing a different downturn could be reinvigorated with a new market or territory to explore.
A prospective acquisition may suddenly open up new doors for growth that are not immediately obvious, such as connections in a fast-growing, non-EU territory, or regulatory approval in a specific country, that could make it a prime target for significant growth.
By the same token, be aware of those selling businesses with exporting potential and ensure that the opportunity being made available to you is of value or interest. What comes with doing business internationally is also a need to protect your organisation against restrictive regulations, currency fluctuations and similar volatile events.
In the end, the UK’s businesses are certainly going to look beyond the EU when they aim to expand and once Brexit has taken place. Just make sure your own company or acquisition is ready to do the same.


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We're doing the iMore show from New York City today. Ironically however, we're not doing it live. We will be recording it and posting it as soon as possible, but we don't have the usual live broadcast stuff with us, so it'll be live-to-tape.
I'll be joined by Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry and Daniel Rubino of Windows Phone Central, and given the way those guys have been going at each other lately, it should be a slobberknocker of a show.
Simon Sage, gaming editor for Mobile Nations, joins Rene to talk about PAX East and GDC 2013, the state of mobile gaming in general, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone in specific, and the explosion of free-to-play titles. Also, Facebook's mobile event.
No iMore show tonight because I just got back from GDC, and it's easter, and we couldn't get it together. So we'll be recording tomorrow sometime. I'll let you know precisely when as soon as we figure out precisely when.
Dieter Bohn of The Verge talks to Rene about Apple's hiring of former Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch, how the iPhone stacks up in the newly competitive mobile market, Eric Schmidt's Google Now gaff, and what we'd like to see in a Jony Ive led iOS 7.
Come our usual time slot on Sunday, I'll be on a plane to San Francisco and the Game Developers Conference (GDC) so we're doing the iMore show early this week. And our very special guest will be Dieter Bohn of The Verge! We'll be talking about Apple's new hire, Kevin Lynch, the current competitive landscape, the idea of Google Now on iOS, and trying to read the Jony Ive tea leaves.
Brian Klug of AnandTech joins Rene to talk Apple TV chipsets, the limitations of battery life, camera optics and microns, high density displays and arc minutes, iOS vs. Android limitations, and much more. It's serious nerd talk, and our longest show ever! You've been warned!
The iMore show returns tonight with special guest Brian Klug of Anandtech, and we're going to discuss all the week's news. And science! Keep an eye on the time as well, because some of us shifted to daylight savings time, which means things could be shifted an hour in your part of the world. (Thankfully smartphones and tablets have clock apps for that, right?)
Jim Dalrymple from The Loop joins Rene to talk about stupid Apple headlines going mainstream, journalistic responsibility, responsive design, what's really challenging Apple, and vacationing down south in Montreal.
Rene and David Chartier talk about Google getting into premium hardware with Glass and Pixel, much as Apple has moved into services with iCloud. Also, the case for user-defined default apps, and wether multitasking matters on the iPad.


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We’ve finally hit a run of good news about global food prices. But the agency that tracks them, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is warning that that it may not last.
The F.A.O.’s global index of food prices fell by 1.8 percent in June by comparison with May’s level, the third consecutive month of decline. The index, closely watched because of the effect of food prices on billions of poor people, is at its lowest point since September 2010, and is 15 percent below a peak reached in February 2011.
Still, by historical standards, food prices remain high. Adjusted for inflation, they are more than 40 percent above the prices prevailing in 2000, for instance. And in releasing the latest version of the index, the F.A.O. warned that June’s dip could be followed by an increase in July.
Harsh weather in some food-growing regions has raised concerns about this year’s harvest, and food prices are rising this month on commodity exchanges. This week my colleague Monica Davey outlined the situation in the American corn belt, for instance.
We won’t really know how this year will shake out until later in the Northern Hemisphere’s growing season, but recent events certainly give fresh cause for worry. And they raise anew the question of whether extreme weather related to global warming is already having an impact on the food supply.
To give some longer-term perspective, the food-price spikes of recent years still have not equaled the drastic run-up in the mid-1970’s, after massive Russian grain failures sent global markets into turmoil, nor the price spikes of World War I and World War II.
But the contemporary price spike has now lasted for a good bit longer than the 1970’s spike, belying predictions made a few years ago that prices would soon return to their historical trend: a long, slow decline.
Based on current evidence, the idea that we have entered some kind of paradigm shift regarding the food supply cannot be ruled out.


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Jacky’s showcases 3D printing for dentistry
Dubai, February 4, 2014
Jacky’s Business Solutions, an end-to-end solutions provider for major corporations in the region, is showcasing 3D digital dentistry at a leading dental conference and exhibition in Dubai, which began today (February 4).
The UAE International Dental Conference & Arab Dental Exhibition – AEEDC Dubai, will run till February 6 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Jacky’s is showcasing the Stratasys Objet30 OrthoDesk 3D printer, a compact and easy to use desktop system especially designed for small to medium-sized orthodontic labs and clinics.
The OrthoDesk 3D Printer is equipped to produce stone models, orthodontic appliances, delivery and positioning trays, retainers and surgical guides.
Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky’s, said: “Dental clinics in the UAE have always been exploring new ways of not only to provide the latest solutions and services but also to grow their business and increase productivity.”
“3D printed models are extremely accurate and reduce the model-making process time, resulting in reduced manual labour time and significant cost savings. This new trend is based on digital impressions and intraoral scanners,” he said.
Other printers from Stratasys are also being displayed by the company. - TradeArabia News Service


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Pricester.com, a Hallandale-based Internet marketplace website, is offering charities and non-profits a free fully functional e-commerce website enabling them to establish a completely functional online retail presence with no upfront costs or investment.
“One of our goals is to help charitable organizations raise money,” said Bernard Gutman, Pricester.com’s Chairman of the Board. “Therefore, we are offering 1,000 charities and non-profits anywhere in America the full potential of online retailing where they can sell their products or services on Pricester.com. Not only is this a great opportunity to generate additional revenue but Pricester.com, Inc. proudly gives back 10% of their net profits to charity.”
Through these websites, completely setup by Pricester.com, merchandise can be viewed and selected, shopping carts filled (included at no cost is a shopping cart which is tied into a national payment system named PayPal, which allows the website to receive payments from Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express cards), credit card transactions executed, orders automatically confirmed, shipping tracked, and returns authorized and recorded. According to Gutman, the charitable organizations will avoid paying hosting fees or specialized transaction processing and tracking programming costs. The only cost to the charity or non-profit will be a one to four percent charge on all merchandise sold.
Pricester.com will format the texts for all of the website pages and integrate the organizations information, logo and banners, as well as set up payment systems and easy to use order tracking systems.
The program also includes:
“The full potential on online retailing is enormous,” continued Gutman. “While American consumers in the final quarter of 2003, the busiest retail period of the year, spent $17.2 billion buying goods online, this represents a miniscule 1.9 percent of total retail sales for the period.
“With 204 million people now having access to the Internet, such scant online retail sales can’t be a function of a shortage of consumers. The fact is that despite a decade of optimistic growth projections, the full potential of retail e-commerce is still restrained by a lack of ‘e-tailers’ available online.”
Non-profits and charities may apply for the free website offer by visiting http://www.pricester.com/nonprofit.
Proby & Associates, Miami


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McLaren will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a special edition of the 12C coupe and 12C Spider supercars. The celebratory cars will be limited to just 100 units total — 50 coupes and 50 convertibles.
McLaren will officially celebrate its 50th birthday on September 2 this year, commemorating Bruce McLaren’s founding of the eponymous racing team. The special edition cars were built by McLaren Special Operations with input from design director Frank Stephenson.
Visual changes to the McLaren 12C begin with a new front bumper that is claimed to improve downforce. The lower part is made from carbon fiber, while the upper part is made from a racing derivative of Kevlar. A special black McLaren badge sits on the car’s nose; it was previously offered only to MSO clients. Both the McLaren 12C coupe and Spider receive the usually optional carbon-ceramic brakes, plus special 50 Ultra Lightweight wheels that, despite measuring 19 inches in front and 20 in the rear, are a combined 4.4 pounds lighter than McLaren’s existing Super Lightweight wheels.
On the inside, full leather upholstery combines with special brandings on the door-sill plate and floor mats. And as if the car itself weren’t enough, each special-edition model comes with a monogrammed car cover, a carbon-fiber key display case, a unique key, and a special print signed by design director Stephenson. The twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-8 engine and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission are unchanged, with power ratings remaining at 616 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque.
U.S. pricing for the McLaren 50 12C coupe and Spider has yet to be released. In the U.K., the limited-run cars start at £196,000 and £215,000, respectively, equivalent to about $296,000 and $326,000.


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A couple of weeks ago we reported on Grasshopper Manufacture's next project, which was teased by the studio's CEO Goichi Suda - known by many as Suda51.
All that was revealed was new concept artwork, which featured a female protagonist who looks a lot like Shinobu - one of the assassins from the No More Heroes series.
This of course fueled speculation that Suda51 had just revealed a new No More Heroes title and there was plenty of evidence to back it up, what with Yusuku Kozaki - the man behind the series' artwork - being involved.
However, Suda51 has revealed to Siliconera that it is not No More Heroes 3, it is in fact something totally new:
It’s a new IP. It is not No More Heroes 3.
This upcoming project will be the first title Grasshopper Manufacture will release with its new parent company GungHo Online - which acquired the studio in January. Unsurprisingly, it will feature an online element that GungHo will most likely be heavily involved in.
Grasshopper Manufacture is releasing Killer is Dead on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 later this year - it's unknown which platforms the new game will be coming to at this current time.
What are your thoughts on this new project? Are you disappointed it's not No More Heroes 3, or excited about the prospect of a new IP? As ever, let us know in the comments section below.


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Brokerages forecast that LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) will post sales of $56.60 million for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Four analysts have provided estimates for LivePerson’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $56.96 million and the lowest is $56.40 million. LivePerson posted sales of $56.12 million in the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year-over-year growth rate of 0.9%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next earnings report after the market closes on Tuesday, February 20th.
On average, analysts expect that LivePerson will report full-year sales of $56.60 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $217.89 million to $218.45 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the company will post sales of $233.87 million per share, with estimates ranging from $230.07 million to $236.22 million. Zacks’ sales calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover LivePerson.
A number of analysts have recently commented on LPSN shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Wednesday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Zacks Investment Research lowered LivePerson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.50 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $15.23.
In other news, CFO Daniel Richard Murphy sold 2,493 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total transaction of $28,544.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,018.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert P. Locascio sold 2,779 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total value of $31,819.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,656 shares in the company, valued at $843,361.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,440 shares of company stock worth $85,188 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.70% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPSN. Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson in the second quarter worth approximately $128,000. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson in the second quarter worth approximately $131,000. Miles Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $169,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson in the third quarter worth approximately $177,000. Finally, Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson in the third quarter worth approximately $189,000. 76.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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LivePerson, Inc (Liveperson) is a provider of mobile and online business messaging technologies that power digital communication between brands and consumers. The Company’s segments include Business and Consumer. The Business segment enables brands to leverage its cloud-based LiveEngage’s intelligence engine.
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LONDON — The U.K. competition regulator on Friday said it is extending the deadline for its review of Microsoft‘s takeover of video game publisher of Activision Blizzard by six weeks.
The extension will give the watchdog more time to review proposals by the two parties to resolve its concerns after it paused a campaign to block the deal.
“The Inquiry Group has decided to extend by six weeks … as it considers that there are special reasons to do so. The revised period will therefore end on 29 August 2023,” the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Friday.
The British regulator has been a stalwart opponent of Microsoft’s $69-billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, inclusively blocking the deal in April over competition concerns in the nascent cloud gaming market.
The CMA appeared to soften its tone earlier in the week, signaling it was ready to resume discussions with the Redmond tech titan. That softened stance came after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block the deal was slapped down by a judge.
“We stand ready to consider any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that would address the concerns set out in our Final Report,” a CMA spokesperson told CNBC via email on Tuesday.
The CMA’s concerns have centered on the likelihood of Microsoft making Activision games exclusive to its own platform, as the tech giant sets its sights on the budding cloud gaming market — a technology that will effectively allow users to stream games on remote servers, like Netflix watchers do with a movie.
Microsoft’s multiple concession offers to the CMA has so far yet to bear fruit. These include deals to license some of Microsoft and Activision games to other cloud gaming providers. However, the CMA flat out rejected these proposals, effectively saying they were hard to enforce and wouldn’t do enough to protect competition in the cloud gaming market.
Now Microsoft and Activision will need to come up with new proposals that go further than that, in order to allay the CMA’s concerns. This coud include bolstered licensing deals or even a potential spinoff of its cloud gaming business in the U.K., analysts told CNBC.
In February, the CMA countered with a notice of potential remedies, which included selling its unit associated with the staple game Call of Duty and divesting some of the Activision Blizzard business. At the time, Microsoft said this was not feasible.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Microsoft could sell off some of its cloud-based market rights for games in the U.K. to other firms to appease the CMA.
The deal has also met with opposition in the U.S., but appeared to gain traction stateside earlier this week after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California pronounced in favor of the two companies. Since then, the U.S. Federal Trace Commission on Wednesday filed to appeal the decision to deny a request for a preliminary injunction, which would have prevented the transaction’s completion.


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Watch out, Detective Pikachu, Mario, Sonic, and any other mascot video game characters out there. While you may be dominating the video game movie adaptation world in the near future, you aren’t the only ones in the works. Not by a long shot. In fact, it sounds like Sony is about to get a hell of a lot more serious in the near future, as they have launched a whole new studio in the form of PlayStation Productions, THR reports.
According to the outlet, the studio will tap into Sony Interactive Entertainment’s catalog of over 100 video game properties and adapt them for both the big screen and the small screen.
“We’ve got 25 years of game development experience and that’s created 25 years of great games, franchises and stories,” Worldwide Studios at SIE chairman Shawn Layden told the outlet. “We feel that now is a good time to look at other media opportunities across streaming or film or television to give our worlds life in another spectrum.”
The project will be headed by Asad Qizilbash, who had the following to say on the matter.
“Instead of licensing our IP out to studios, we felt the better approach was for us to develop and produce for ourselves. One, because we’re more familiar, but also because we know what the PlayStation community loves.”
Unlike other similar devs like Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard, who opened up other film and TV arms, Sony’s PlayStation Productions will be handling the production firsthand, rather than licensing it out to other studios. Sony Pictures will help with distribution. Sound familiar? Maybe a bit like what Marvel Studios did way back in the mid-2000s prior to its release of Iron Man?
That’s no coincidence.
“For the last year and half, two years, we’ve spent time trying to understand the industry, talking to writers, directors, producers,” said Qizilbash. “We talked to [film producer] Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Kevin Feige to really get an understanding of the industry.”
“We looked at what Marvel has done in taking the world of comic books and making it into the biggest thing in the film world,” said Layden. “It would be a lofty goal to say we’re following in their footsteps, but certainly we’re taking inspiration from that.”
Well, if we are going to get these adaptations either way, I’d much rather they came directly from the source. Maybe they’ll actually start to nail it down as a genre.
What do you think? Are you excited by the prospect of in-house video game movie getting produced? Let us know down below!
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Have you checked out LRM Online‘s official podcast feed yet, which includes our flagship podcast Los Fanboys? Check it out by listening below. It’s also available on all your favorite podcast apps!


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Merck, a science and technology company, announced a strategic partnership with Guardian Glass to commission sales of eyrise dynamic liquid crystal windows. With this partnership, Merck aims to expand the customer base of its liquid crystal windows business by leveraging additional distribution channels, says the company.
“This partnership will allow us to offer a complete range of solutions for structural facades,” says Guus Boekhoudt, vice president and general manager of Guardian Glass for Europe, Russia and APAC. “eyrise complements our extensive range of high-performance coated glass products with innovative features such as dynamic solar control and variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Combined with our expertise in commercial projects, this strategic addition will allow us to further enable tailor-made solutions for our customers.”
“The successful completion of the first eyrise projects proves we have conquered the application of our liquid crystal technology in innovative architecture,” says Michael Heckmeier, head of the display solutions business unit at the performance materials business sector of Merck. “Our goal now is to expand the reach of our eyrise products to new markets and regions. With this strategic partnership with Guardian Glass, we will be able to leverage their know-how and network in the architecture industry as well as their expert salesforce to penetrate new market segments.”
eyrise dynamic liquid crystal windows offers immediate shading comfort by cutting solar glare on-demand without compromising on natural daylight. The privacy window variant also offers an instant switch from transparent to translucent that provides confidentiality as required.


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As it becomes clearer that people are bulk-buying essential items ahead of Brexit and confidence in the supply chain is diminishing, the latest previously undisclosed blow to the nation’s wellbeing has come to light.
Porsche has announced that they want customers to sign a clause in their purchase contracts agreeing to a potential tariff of 10% for cars delivered after Britain leaves the EU. Continue reading “Project Fear in overdrive as Porsche plan to charge Brits 10% more to look like a twat”
We are an online, topical, poo flinging satirical news site, looking to carve out our little niche on the internet. We write stories about everyday life in the Monkey House.
One of our aims is to give new writers a platform to have their work published. To urge funny people to put finger to keyboard, in 250 words or less, and tell us something we hadn’t thought of.
Continue reading “Do you have an affinity with the written word? A liking for a joke? Fancy seeing your work published? Then, come and join an infinite number of monkeys working on their Hamlet”
As the last of the major UK based car makers, announces plans to shift production overseas, one plucky British company, The Trotters, launch their new four door saloon, The Plonker.
Unfortunately, launch day didn’t go as planned, the millennial models they hired were only used to automatics and drove the car straight into the River. Continue reading “Launch of UK’s last remaining production car, The Plonker, doesn’t go well”
Red-faced executives at the Nissan plant in Sunderland are expecting harsh words from their bosses in Japan tomorrow morning as their counterparts at Honda’s Swindon factory stole a march by announcing the closure of their factory first.
Sunderland, the poster town for Vote Leave, realised it had dropped a clanger roughly twenty seconds after polls closed at the 2016 EU Referendum, and Remainers everywhere have scoffed ever since at people voting to become unemployed. Now Swindon has joined in on the act, also voting Leave and succeeding in closing a major local employer in consequence, but doing it first. Continue reading “Honda smashes Nissan in the race for the Brexit Door”
After a rather difficult weekend, Britannia has updated her Facebook relationship status to, ‘It’s Complicated’.
As the on/off relationship with her sexy European Pen-Pal, Jean-Claude Schmidt, comes to an inglorious and messy end, Britannia has gone on one disastrous date after another. Continue reading “Britannia Updates her Facebook Relationship status to ‘It’s Complicated’”
Chelsea’s fag-chomping Italian supremo, Maurizio Sarri, has come in for some tough criticism this week after their 6-0 drubbing away to Man City. The mauling has prompted a number of incisive tactical analysis, which have driven at the heart of where things are going wrong with so-called ‘Sarri ball’. Continue reading “After Chelsea’s 6-0 drubbing some football pundiots ask; What is going wrong with Sarri Ball?”


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Now we don't know for sure if the lack of spotted owls in these photos is the direct result of engineers blasting the A/C in their 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid, but we're going to go out on a limb and say that it is. Expect a rapid decline in spotted owl population levels in LA, New York and other major cities where people like to pay lip service to being green as a fashion statement when the big-ass SUV hybrid rolls out.
In addition to barely reduced fuel consumption, expect the production ActiveHybrid to share the concept's bizarre hood bulge, as evidenced in these photos. While we don't know exactly when it will be released, this will be BMW's first hybrid and we're putting our money on a 2010 on-sale date.
While it's tempting to mock BMW for selling such a blatantly hypocritical vehicle, the rest of the BMW EfficientDynamics range actually does accomplish reasonable fuel efficiency, so we think they're just playing it smart by selling efficient diesels to people who actually care about reducing fuel consumption while charging a premium to those who merely want to be seen to be doing so.
Unlike spotted owls, KGP's photographers actually managed to get close to the X6 ActiveHybrid without suffocating on its fumes. Here's what they had to say:
We spotted BMW's X6 ActiveHybrid undergoing hot-weather trials in Death Valley. We saw three X6 Hybrid cars, but one of the test vehicles showed one important difference, as its final hood design was visible for the first time on a real-world prototype. Two of the prototypes showcased enormous hood bulges, but the third prototype's hood—while still bulging more than a standard X6—looks clean with a tastefully integrated bump sculpted in near the cowl. We can now confirm that the production X6 Hybrid will take its visual inspiration from BMW's X6 ActiveHybrid concept. Whether the revised hood bulge is there to make room for some hybrid-specific hardware, or if its sole purpose is to signal one's green-leaning tendencies, is currently unknown.


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Concessionaires line up for toll road pork-fest
Dallas Business Journal
Brinker International Inc. said Thursday it has signed a development agreement with HMSHost Corp.
Under the deal, HMSHost Corp. has agreed to develop 26 new restaurants over the next five years in various airports and along tollroads.
The restaurants will include Brinker (NYSE: EAT) concepts Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina.
Financial terms of its development deal with HMSHost Corp. were not disclosed.
Bethesda, Md.-based HMSHost operates quick-service restaurants at more than 70 airports and more than 100 rest areas along major turnpikes and highways in the United States and Canada.
Brinker, which is based in Dallas, owns or franchises more than 1,800 restaurants in 24 countries and has more than 120,000 employees.
Web site: www.brinker.com
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Kakao, the Korean internet pioneer, has selected ‘Hair Shop’ as its first O2O (online to offline) business in the beauty sector.
Kakao plans to expand its O2O business by releasing new services – relief drivers and the hair industry.
According to industry analysts, Kakao is planning to launch ‘Kakao Hair Shop’ (working title) during the first half of the year through its affiliate Hasys.
If Kakao’s Hair Shop is launched, related businesses could use Hasys solutions such as ‘Hair Zzang’ or ‘Beauty Zzang’ to easily build online and mobile reservation systems. Research on consumer satisfaction and marketing education could also be supported.
Customers could have access to information about various hair shops through a Kakao-based platform, and compare prices at each salon.
Some predict that Kakao will charge a commission for providing the platform when a user makes a reservation through the Hair Shop application and pays through Kakao Pay. However, Kakao claims that the details of the service have yet to be confirmed.
Hasys is a beauty solution business Kakao took over in October 2015 through K-Venture Group, an affiliate of Kakao specialising in investments. Hasys has developed and is providing solutions such as ‘Hair Zzang’ and ‘Beauty Zzang’, which manage clients of beauty salons, skin care parlors and nail shops.
Hasys has 10,000 beauty businesses as members, and ranks at the top of the industry with 69 per cent market share as of September 2015.
Kakao revealed its intentions to launch O2O services related to the beauty industry at the time it took over Hasys. As a first step, Kakao officially entered the hair industry.
Kakao officials said the company is planning to concentrate on the Hair Shop business, as it could be a service that is attractive to people of all genders and ages. “We have no other plans to expand our offerings into other beauty businesses.”
Hasys is currently meeting with owners of hair shops across Korea, explaining about the launch of Kakao Hair Shop. Currently 2000 shops have agreed to become members of the service.
- By Francine Jung of Korea Bizwire.


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“Why don’t you come over” campaign, launched by GMP Advertising and Gandul.info and that invited Brits to come to Romania instead of fearing of Romanians invading their country, ended with a message from Romanians to the British Prime Minister David Cameron, published in The Guardian on February 11th .
Started by GMP Advertising and Romanian online daily Gandul and continued with help from Webstyler, “Why don’t you come over?” campaign started as an answer to “Don’t come to UK” campaign, launched by The Guardian. In just 2 weeks, GMP’s campaign managed to get global reach and showed to foreigners and Romanians that one can say good things about Romanians also.
The results of the campaign:
- Over 5M impressions in Romanian press (print, online, radio, TV)
- Over 100 materials in international mass-media
- Over 1.5M impressions on Facebook
- 49,000 impressions on Twitter
- Over 17,000 impressions on blogs and in comments
- Over 60,000 comments in Romanian online press
- Over 300 Romanians offered their couches to Brits willing to visit Romania
- 2 Brits applied for jobs in Romania
The campaign had a big international impact and visibility in titles in UK, US, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Brasil, India, Switzerland or Pakistan. “Why don’t you come over” was covered by Financial Times, Associated Press, BBC News, Huffington Post, Reuters, ZDF, Daily Mirror, The Independent, El Mundo, The World or BBD Lincolnshire. The campaign also made it in Time.


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Revamp of Elephant & Castle eyesore draws near Tuesday, 7th February 2012
A £500 million regeneration of the much maligned Elephant & Castle shopping centre is apparently “nearer now than we’ve ever been” according to St Modwen chairman Bill Oliver.
The developer, who has owned the Sixties-built shopping centre for the past ten years, aims to submit planning application to Southwark council for the overhaul as well as 1000 new flats within the next year, with work set to begin in 2015.
St Modwen has yet to secure financing but is confident of raising the cash as swathes of the capital soak up redevelopment funds. "The banks are in a mess but there will be funding for schemes with strong demand,” Oliver said.


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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Your days of getting a sweeter deal by buying tax-free online may be ending.
In an era of tighter government budgets, more states are looking to recapture the tax dollars that are lost when Internet sellers don't charge state and local sales tax.
What looks like a savings to the consumer actually amounts to an estimated $628.6 million that would otherwise go to the state of Ohio and local governments this year, says the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Those deals let online sellers undercut prices and take hundreds of millions in sales away from bricks-and-mortar retailers, a University of Cincinnati Economics Center study found.
The pricing difference stems from a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said out-of-state retailers don't have to collect state and local taxes from residents of Ohio or other states where they don't have a physical presence.
Amazon.com, the largest online retailer, has struck deals to charge sales tax in half a dozen states, sometimes as part of a deal to build warehouses there.
But a proposed federal law would give all the states the authority to collect what's due no matter where the retailer is located.
Michael Ziegenhagen, 20-year owner of the Playmatters Toys stores in Avon, Mentor, Pepper Pike, Solon and Cleveland's Shaker Square, said: "It totally blows my mind that state governments have been so negligent on this matter.
"They're crying about 'Where do we find the money for our budgets?' and they're letting hundreds of millions of dollars a year go out the door through Internet tax avoidance."
"Everyone should be paying sales tax or no one should be paying sales tax," he said.
Local stores like his are now gaining support for sales tax parity from retailer groups, state officials, independent-business advocates and, surprisingly, from Amazon itself.
"Amazon believes the sales tax issue needs to be resolved at the federal level, and we're actively working with the states, retailers and Congress to get federal legislation passed now," said Scott Stanzel, a spokesman from Amazon's Seattle headquarters.
Two "e-fairness" proposals winding their way through Congress, the Marketplace Fairness Act in the Senate and the Marketplace Equity Act in the House, would force Internet retailers to begin charging and remitting sales tax to recapture that lost revenue.
The National Conference of State Legislatures says that amount exceeds $23.3 billion.
The Marketplace Equity Act will be discussed at a House Judiciary Committee hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Rep. Steve LaTourette, Bainbridge Republican, and Rep. Steve Stivers, Columbus Republican, are the only Ohio co-sponsors of the Marketplace Equity Act. Their legislative aides could not be reached for comment.
With growing support from both political parties, "it's not a question of whether this will happen, it's a matter of when," Matthew Shay, president and chief executive of the National Retail Federation, said of the proposed laws.
"It's just a basic issue of fairness" to require out-of-state sellers to charge the same amount in taxes that local stores do, he said.
Moreover, Shay says the airports, highways, bridges and railroads that online retailers rely on to deliver their goods to Ohio buyers are paid for by bricks-and-mortar retailers.
NetChoice, a Washington, D.C., coalition of trade association and e-commerce sites including eBay, Expedia and Facebook, disagrees with Amazon about the need for a new federal law.
It says doing so would impose "yet another disadvantage to small business, who already pay higher rates for things like shipping, inventory, IT services and health insurance."
James Alperin, owner of the 30-year-old James Alperin Jewelers and a graduate gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America, has spent years watching online jewelry sellers nibble away at his business.
"People have this impression that there's this huge markup on jewelry, but we work on very small margins," he said via telephone from his Pepper Pike store.
"A 7 3/4 percent difference is a big difference when you're selling a $10,000 item," he said. "Sometimes they'll tell you: 'I'm looking on the Internet and just wanted to see what you've got.' "
Although buying a jewel online requires a certain degree of trust, reputation is everything to bricks-and-mortar jewelers, he said.
"When you buy a stone from a jeweler, you mean something to that jeweler, because we want you to come back and buy your wedding rings from us," he said.
"My store is in Pepper Pike. I live in Pepper Pike. I employ local people trying to support their families. . . . The Internet doesn't know you or care if you come back."
Just because Internet sellers don't charge us sales taxes doesn't mean we don't have to pay them. We're supposed to keep track of what we buy throughout the year and then record the total on our state income tax forms.
It turns out that less than 1 percent of us -- only 46,000 filers in 2010 -- actually do that.
That's despite surveys that show more than 60 percent of Ohio households bought something online that year.
The 1992 Supreme Court ruling, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, handed down before online retail existed, was in response to the hardship of complying with 45 states and 7,600 local taxing districts nationwide.
But in the years since that decision, 25 states (but not Ohio) have streamlined their tax codes and designated a single collection site in anticipation of a federal law that would let them collect online taxes.
And supporters like Shay point out that online software can now compute tax rates as easily as shipping costs.
And when companies like Amazon started building more distribution centers from which to deliver its goods, states started to challenge their tax-free pricing policies.
"From our members' standpoint, the government essentially has its thumb on the scale in favor of out-of-state retailers," said Jason Brewer, vice president of communications and advocacy for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, in Arlington, Va.
Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher with the nonprofit Institute for Local Self Reliance in Minneapolis, said, "Now that so many people are carrying smartphones, with apps that encourage people to go into stores, scan bar codes and buy the product online, retailers are feeling this much more than they used to and across a much larger variety of sectors."
Requiring everyone to pay sales tax is fairer for all consumers, she said, "because if you're a consumer who prefers to shop at physical stores, and your neighbor prefers to shop online, they're getting a price break that you're not."
"Also, it's a tax advantage that disproportionately benefits higher-income people," because lower-income shoppers tend not to have jobs where they can accept deliveries during the day or where they have Internet access.
Local merchants point out that Amazon is already collecting sales tax in six states and is scheduled to start charging in seven others in coming months. Ohio is not among those states.
If Amazon builds a distribution center in Ohio - as it is doing in other states in a wider effort to offer one-day delivery, the company could become a more formidable rival to local businesses.
However, if it did build in Ohio, Amazon could be forced to start collecting sales taxes to comply with the 1992 Supreme Court ruling.
Ziegenhagen of Playmatters Toys says that unless the states start collecting from online sellers, the stores like his that do charge those taxes will be replaced by an army of delivery trucks delivering boxes from out-of-state stores.
"It only makes good sense for you as the consumer and good cents for our community to support local businesses," he said.
"Forty-six cents of every dollar you spend in a locally owned business stays in the local economy, creating jobs, paying payroll and property taxes and supporting the regional economy with printers, lawyers, accountants and suppliers.
"When you shop at a national chain or in a big-box store, it's 14 cents, and when you buy over the Internet, it's zero."
Ziegenhagen said he thrives by offering specially chosen toys sold by well-informed employees who know how to play with them.
"The in-store shopping experience, your ability to find exactly what you need, is still critical to parents and grandparents in choosing toys," he said.
Michael Feuer, founder and chief executive of Max-Wellness, a four-year-old health and fitness retailer with six stores as well as online sales, said he fully expects that "tax-free online will eventually go away."
He said the temptation to check out something in a bricks-and-mortar store and then buy it for less online is too great for consumers to resist and helped turn Best Buy into a showroom for Amazon.com.
Although he says that most of what he sells doesn't compete with Internet sites, he still offers to match prices on anything his customers find cheaper online.
Phil Barress, manager of Fireside Book Shop in Chagrin Falls, said his store has survived for nearly 50 years despite online competitors by being the only bookstore in the village and having a loyal clientele.
"We compete because people like actually holding the books and asking our opinion and having a real experience here. It's almost apples and oranges."
"This is not only a bookstore question, it's an every store question," he said. "I've always wondered how long the tax-free state of the Internet was going to last."
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B.C.-based Kinematic Soup exhibiting at the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco.
British Columbia game development companies headed south to the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco this past week to connect with industry leaders and showcase their new projects and games.
Held from March 14-18, 2016, GDC
is the longest running professionals-only video game industry event. The annual conference attracts more than 25,000 attendees from leading digital media companies, eager to meet with potential investors and promote their newest products.
British Columbia’s game development industry
has been a mainstay at the event for several years and this year was no different, with nearly 40 companies from B.C. participating in the show. Companies like Victoria-based Hololabs, who attended GDC to develop and explore new ventures with others in the industry. “As an indie game studio, GDC is the perfect opportunity to form new collaborations, and partners like the B.C. government help us develop the international partnerships we need to get noticed," said Mike Wozniewski, president and chief technology officer at Hololabs.
The companies were supported by B.C.’s U.S.-based trade and investment team
who worked to connect them with the partners and investors they need to expand into new markets.
The trade and investment team also co-sponsored the Canadian Interactive Alliance’s (CIAIC) “Canada Game Nation” networking reception. The CIAIC is the voice of Canada’s interactive digital entertainment industry, and their reception is the largest networking and match-making event of Canadian and international video game professionals at GDC. The reception attracts several hundred people including executives from the world’s top video game companies, making it an ideal venue to highlight the advantages of British Columbia’s digital media sector.
Recognized as one of the top video game clusters in the world, British Columbia is home to international video game heavyweights such as Capcom and EA as well as home grown talent such as Roadhouse Interactive and Eastside Games. Our strategic location on Canada’s west coast allows companies to leverage relationships with the entertainment hub in Los Angeles, technology centres in Seattle and key markets in Europe and Asia, while having access to a large pool of talented local industry professionals.
For more information on British Columbia’s thriving game development industry contact one of our International Trade and Investment Representatives.


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The automaker announced that it is preparing the launch of two fully electric vehicles this year in Colombia, which play a leading role in GM’s electric vehicle strategy in South America. In fact, a senior local company official confirmed to Autosdeprimera that Colombia will be the first country in the region where the all-new Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV will be launched.
“The Blazer EV with Ultium technology will be our first launch in the electromobility segment. This model has already won several international awards,” said Marketing Manager of GM Colombia, Juan Alberto Yokens. “The second confirmed product is the Equinox EV and we can proudly say that we will be the first in the region to have these two products,” he added.
Once again, GM confirms that it will give Colombia priority for electric vehicle vehicle launches in South America, introducing the all-new Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV for the first time in that country – ahead of Brazil, Chile and Argentina which have larger automotive markets. This has already happened with the Chevy Bolt EUV, the first of the three Chevrolet EVs for the region that the manufacturer announced in mid-2022.
GM South America’s new onslaught of all-electric vehicles will begin with the Chevy Blazer EV, which will officially launch in Colombia before the end of the first quarter of 2024. In fact, the company revealed that it currently has 10 units of the Blazer EV undergoing testing in the country, which have accumulated more than 10,000 kilometers or 6,214 miles of travel in Colombian territory.
For its part, the all-new Chevy Equinox EV will launch in the second half of the year after the vehicle is tested in the country’s topography, and following training of sales and technical advisors in each of the brand’s dealerships in Colombia. Both models will arrive in the country and the rest of the South American markets imported from the GM Ramos Arizpe plant, where they are manufactured for North America and other international markets.


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According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first two months of 2021, the export value of nine groups of products exceeded US$1 billion each, accounting for 73.8 percent of Vietnam’s total export value. Of these, the export value of phones and components reached US$9.3 billion, accounting for 19.2 percent of the total, a year-on-year increase of 22.8 percent.
Computers, electronic and optical products also significantly contributed to export growth. In the first two months of 2021, the production index of these products grew 21.2 percent compared with the same period last year. The manufacturing of communication devices, mostly phones and components, grew 22.9 percent. Specifically, 35 million mobile phones were manufactured, up 1.2 percent; phone component production reached VND95.4 trillion, up 55.7 percent. Major export markets of these products include the EU, the US, and China. Exports to China in the first two months of this year reached nearly US$2.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 103.9 percent.
In 2010, phones and components accounted for 3.2 percent of Vietnam’s total export value. This increased six-fold to 19.5 percent in 2016 and has been maintained around 20 percent since then. In the first two months of 2021, these products topped the list of Vietnam’s exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with value reaching US$551 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 108 percent, accounting for two thirds of total export value.
|Mobile phone manufacturing at VinSmart|
Opening way for domestic firms?
Foreign investment in Vietnam in manufacturing phones and components has been increasing. While Apple’s major suppliers such as Foxcon, Luxshare, GoerTek, and Compal already have factories in Vietnam, the mobile giant keeps encouraging its suppliers to shift manufacturing from China.
The export value of Samsung’s phones and components grew sharply in the first two months of 2021. By the end of 2020, about 50 Vietnamese companies had become Samsung’s tier-1 suppliers. However, foreign firms keep importing input components for phone manufacturing in Vietnam.
In the first two months of this year, Vietnam imported US$3.64 billion worth of phones and components, a year-on-year increase of 74.6 percent. Domestic companies are expected to contribute to a resurgence in phone and component exports.
Do Thi Thuy Huong, member of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association, said that in the post-Covid-19 period, additional electronics companies with foreign direct investment (FDI) will move their manufacturing facilities to Vietnam, creating opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to supply them with components and accessories. “We want FDI projects in the electronics sector to create breakthroughs for Vietnamese companies to create domestic value added in exports to benefit Vietnamese consumers,” she said.
In February 2021, VinSmart, a member of Vingroup, launched three made-in-Vietnam smart phone models on the website of the leading US conglomerate AT&T. This development has encouraged Vietnamese companies to invest in manufacturing phones and components for export and boosted their confidence in their global competitiveness. Nguyen Thi Hong, General Director of the Mobile Division of the VinSmart Research and Manufacture Joint Stock Company, said that in 2021, VinSmart will concentrate on creating high-quality products for sale to the US market.
|Economists forecast global consumption of mobile phones will grow well in 2021 and until 2024.|


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USDA: Bakkavor Foods USA, Inc. Recalls Meat and Poultry Products due to Possible Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes Contamination In Onions
Image of salmonella from commons.wikemedia.org
On October 21st, Bakkavor Foods USA Inc. recalled close to 800,000 pounds of meat and poultry products containing an onion ingredient that is believed to be contaminated with Salmonella and/or Listeria. Currently, there have been no reports of illness or injury. However, if illness occurs after consumption of Bakkavor Foods products, a healthcare provider should be contacted. Symptoms of Salmonellosis include: diarrhea, cramps, and fever seen 12-72 hours after consumption. Symptoms of Listeriosis include: muscle fatigue, confusion, fever, and headache. Pregnant women are at particularly high risk.
Continue reading here.


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EasyJet has announced a new route from Belfast to Tenerife, with flights taking off from November 7.
Another four routes have also been announced, including from Edinburgh to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and from Glasgow to Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
This follows the news that the airline will be putting more flights on sale to the Canary Islands in response to a surge in customer demand.
This includes routes to the islands from Belfast, and also from London Gatwick, London Luton, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
This following the UK government announcement that they have been added to the list of quarantine exempt destinations.
Over 180,000 additional seats to the Canary Islands will now be available up to the end of March 2021, with fares from £22.99.
The airline has also added more seats to previously sold out dates for October Half Term, meaning families now have more opportunity to enjoy a last minute getaway in the sun.
All easyJet customers can change their flights to a later date without a change fee up to 14 days ahead of departure.
Ali Gayward, UK Country Manager, easyJet said: “We welcome the announcement from the UK government that the Canary Islands have been added to the list of quarantine exempt countries for British travellers.
“This will mean many of our customers will be able to take a winter sun break to these popular islands or reschedule a holiday that they’ve been unable to take this summer as a result of the last minute changes to quarantine restrictions.
“Since the government’s announcement last night we’ve already seen a surge of demand for flights and holidays to the Canary Islands – we’ve seen a 500% increase day on day on searches – so we know that there is customer demand, they want to travel and this demonstrates they will do so when travel restrictions are relaxed.
“We continue to encourage the Government to take a lead in moving to testing, as well as the approval of new testing technologies, as soon as possible as effective testing is crucial to get people flying again.”


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SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Helix, the personal genomics company that brings DNA-powered partner apps and insights to consumers, today announced the appointment of Robin Thurston as chief executive officer. Robin previously co-founded and built MapMyFitness into one of the world’s largest open fitness tracking platforms and most recently served as chief digital officer at Under Armour, where he led the overall strategic direction of the company’s Connected Fitness business. At Helix, his leadership will help build the world’s first personal genomics platform.
“As an industry, we’re at the starting point of understanding how our DNA impacts all aspects of our lives -- from our ancestry and lifestyle, to our health and wellness,” said Robin Thurston, CEO of Helix. “I’m thrilled to join such a brilliant team and to partner with some of the world’s biggest companies to help people make more informed everyday life decisions based on their DNA.”
Bringing on a seasoned CEO with deep technology and consumer-facing experience is a natural next step for the company. Robin joins a team of 70 people split between headquarters in the Bay Area and lab operations in San Diego. Earlier this year, Helix completed construction on a state-of-the art NGS laboratory in San Diego. The lab is core to Helix’s operations and provides large-scale sequencing and database services to high-quality partners. Helix is currently testing samples from a closed Alpha program and is on track to operate one of the largest CLIA, CAP-accredited NGS facilities in the world.
“Over the last several months, the Helix co-founders have been quietly building a world-class team, a high-throughput lab and a secure genomics data infrastructure,” stated Jay Flatley, Chairman of the Helix Board and Executive Chairman of Illumina. “Robin is an exceptional choice for CEO and will no doubt help take Helix to the next level as DNA sequencing is poised to go mainstream.”
Helix’s vibrant partner ecosystem is growing to bring DNA-powered insights to everyday products and experiences. Current partners include Mayo Clinic, LabCorp, GoodStart Genetics and Duke University, and more will be announced later this year. For information on Helix’s partner program, visit www.helix.com.
Helix is a rapidly growing startup focused on personal genomics. Helix has a simple but powerful mission: to empower every person to improve their life through DNA. We’re creating an ecosystem where people can explore diverse and uniquely personalized applications provided by high-quality partners. Helix handles sample collection, DNA sequencing, and secure data storage so that our partners can develop on-demand products in areas such as health, fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, genealogy, and inherited traits. Helix is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and operates one of the world’s largest next-generation sequencing laboratories in San Diego. You can learn more at www.helix.com or follow @my_helix.


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IRON and STEEL
Scrap & Recycling
South Africa, one of the leading scrap exporters observed fall in its ferrous scrap exports in Aug’18 on monthly basis against exports recorded in Jul’18. As per recent customs data, the country exported 39,370 MT ferrous scrap in Aug’18, down 12% M-o-M as against exports recorded at 44,947 MT ferrous scrap in Jul’18.
On yearly premises, the country witnessed sharp rise of 45% Y-o-Y in its scrap exports in Aug'18 as against 27,120 MT in Aug’17.
Port wise – In Aug’18, the majority of the scrap exports made from South Africa have been done through major ports like Durban (49%), Johannesburg (26%), Pretoria (10%), Port Elizabeth (8%) and Cape Town (6%).
India remained the largest importer of South African ferrous scrap - India witnessed considerable increase in its scrap imports from South Africa in August. India imported 20,734 MT, up 33% M-o-M as against 15,535 MT in Jul'18. While other prominent importers like Bangladesh (9,007 MT, down 30% M-o-M) and Pakistan (4,095 MT, down 70% M-o-M) have witnessed falling scrap imports on slowdown in purchasing amid religious holidays in Aug-Sept’18. Indonesia recorded 28% M-o-M rise in scrap imports in Aug’18 from South Africa.
Top three importers India, Bangladesh and Pakistan occupied 53%, 23% and 10% share individually comprising total 86% share of ferrous scrap exports from South Africa in Aug’18.
South African scrap exports edged up Y-o-Y during Jan-Aug’18 - South Africa exported 320,240 MT ferrous scrap during Jan-Aug’18, up 3% Y-o-Y as against 310,319 MT scrap imports recorded during the first eight months of last year.
India imported highest 149,240 MT ferrous scrap in Jan-Aug’18, up 37% Y-o-Y as against 108,785 MT in Jan-Jul’17. Pakistan imported 93,636 MT, down 23%Y-o-Y while Bangladesh witnessed a sharp growth of 88% Y-o-Y in scrap imports from South Africa amid increasing scrap consumption in the country.
According to the data released by World Steel Association, crude steel production in South Africa slipped marginally at 0.528 MnT in August as against 0.535 MnT Jul’18. While it recorded at 4.26 MnT during Jan-Aug’18 as against 4.12 MnT during Jan-Aug’17.


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Released on: uly 21, 2015, 11:07 am (EDT)
Author: Ackert Inc.
Sherman Oaks, CA, July 21, 2015 — /EPR NETWORK/ — Ackert Inc.™ released the findings of a market-wide study showing surprising trends in Customer Relationship Management adoption and utilization in law firms—or rather, the lack thereof.
Although attorneys’ primary role is to service their clients’ legal needs, they are also expected to originate new clients for their firms; yet relatively few attorneys use formalized systems to organize their pursuits. The recent study reveals that although 70 percent of North American law firms have implemented a CRM initiative, less than 5 percent of lawyers at most firms use it regularly.
Released on: July 07, 2015, 3:32 pm (EDT)
Author: Clay Mason
St. Paul, Texas, July 07, 2015 — /EPR NETWORK/ — Superior Notary Services, one of the largest and best known notary service firm in the U.S., announced today that their customer testimonials have been approved by Proven Credible, a noted third-party verification service. Superior now joins the ranks of the many other firms that have used the Proven Credible system to verify that the testimonials posted by their clients are genuine.
Released on: May 05, 2015, 12:43 pm (EDT)
Author: Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Austin, TX, May 05, 2015 — /EPR NETWORK/ — Texas lawmakers will have the opportunity to make it easier for consumers to buy raw milk on Thursday, when House Bill 91 is scheduled to come up for a vote on the floor of the House.
The bill, which was approved by the Public Health Committee, will loosen the current regulations that only allow raw milk to be sold on the farm by allowing dairy farmers to sell raw milk at farmers’ markets and to make delivery arrangements with their customers.
Released on: February 24, 2015, 8:40 am (EST)
Author: Vivier Mortgages
Industry: Financial, Real Estate, Law
DUBLIN, IRELAND, February 24, 2015 — /EPR NETWORK/ — Over the past few months VML was contacted by Mr Conor Ryan and other reporters working on a programme for RTE, the Irish broadcaster.
It soon became clear that a number of untrue and defamatory allegations – about VML and persons formerly or currently connected with it – would be made in the programme and had already been made to third parties. After VML clearly outlined the correct position to RTE, its lawyers confirmed that the programme and/or its reporting would be “fair and balanced”, “fair, impartial and objective”, “fair to all interests concerned”, “fair and accurate”, “broadcast in good faith” and contain “nothing misleading, unsavoury or malicious” nor any “distortions or untruths”. VML was further assured by RTE’s lawyers that it “adheres to high standards of journalistic ethics” and follows “proper journalistic standards”.


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Fancy Tiger is turning 4 on Saturday. The clothing and craft stores, which sell creations from independent designers — many of whom are from the Denver area — are celebrating their anniversary with giveaways, sales and cupcakes. Co-owner Matthew Brown says rompers are a hot item this summer, as are designs from Adam Sikorski, who does screen printing from original drawings. Also a top seller is the Darling Ruth line of designs from sewing instructor Christina Patzman. Customers who purchase items from featured designers will receive a Fancy Tiger T-shirt and summer music mixes while supplies last. “We want to give back to customers and make them aware of the local stores we frequent and support,” said Brown. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fancy Tiger Boutique is at 14 S. Broadway, 303-282-6590; Fancy Tiger Crafts is at 1 S. Broadway, 303-733-3855; fancytiger.com. Lynette Zilio
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The super snow moon coming Tuesday will appear to be the largest full moon of 2019 -- and it won't appear this large again until 2026.
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Master Yoda, dust off his French, he must. It's now easier than ever in France to act out "Star Wars" fantasies, because its fencing federation has borrowed from a galaxy far, far away and officially recognized lightsaber dueling as a competitive sport.


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Ramadan Around the World
Images of the holy month of Ramadan beginning around the world. Video courtesy of Reuters.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I don't want the iconic Blue Mosque in Istanbul ... marking the start of the holy month of Ramadan ... determined by the first sighting of the Crescent moon Ramadan is observed by abstinence from eating drinking and smoking during daylight ... in Indonesia the most populous Muslim nation ... about seventeen thousand people gathered to pray at the Grand Mosque in Jakarta ... the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia's capital city vendors are selling local food delicacies in traditional clothes in makeshift stalls to serve plus some shoppers on the first day of fasting for Ramadan ... in China are members of the Mosman community ... gather in Beijing to crank up ... and in Afghanistan ... soldiers from the Afghan National Army continue on their patrols ... when the sun comes down like Muslims around the world ... the break their daily